The west began to change significantly 200 years ago

Advertisement in the Missouri Gazette newspaper, Feb. In early , William Henry Ashley —— entrepreneur, mine owner and politician —— joined forces with bullet maker and occasional fur trader Andrew Henry to place advertisements in St. Louis, Mo. The men were to be employed gathering furs —— primarily beaver. It was the beginning of what would become the Rocky Mountain Fur Co.

Among those who answered the call were individuals who became among the most famous mountain men in history, men like Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson and Jim Beckwourth.

What happened 200 years ago today

They were credited with developing key routes in the West, such as South Pass in Wyoming, which would be critical to emigrants headed to Oregon, and a pathway into the Salt Lake Valley. And in , Ashley and his intrepid crew became the first people to make a documented boat trip down the Green River, from Wyoming to the Uintah River, using bull boats made of buffalo hide and willow frames.

It was not an easy trip. On several occasions, they had to halt to repair their crude, foot by 7-foot boats. That led to a decades long feud between the two fur companies. As early as , John Colter, who had been a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is believed to have led a small group of trappers into the Yellowstone Valley.